ACCELERATION SENSOR AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

• US 20200132715A1
• Filed: 12/31/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: YODA, Mitsuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,768,198 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/125 by capacitive pick-up
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/0831 the mass being of the paddle type having the pivot axis between the longitudinal ends of the mass, e.g. see-saw configuration

Abstract

An acceleration sensor includes a base substrate provided with a first recess part, and a sensor part located on the first recess part and swingably supported in a depth direction of the first recess part by a support part, wherein the sensor part is sectioned into a first part and a second part by the support part, includes a movable electrode part in the first part and the second part, a through hole is provided at least at an end side in the second part larger in mass than the first part, and the base substrate includes a fixed electrode part in a position opposed to the movable electrode part in the first recessed part, and a second recess part deeper than the first recess part is provided in a position opposed to the end side of the sensor part.

Claims

1. An acceleration sensor comprising:

three mutually orthogonal axes being defined as an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis;

a base substrate made of glass, the base substrate including;

a recess;

first and second fixed electrodes arranged along the X-axis; and

a conductor disposed on a bottom of the recess;

a sensor member, the sensor member being configured with;

a first member facing the first fixed electrode via a first gap along the Z-axis;

a second member facing the second fixed electrode via a second gap along the Z-axis, the second member having a larger mass than the first member; and

a swing axis that extends along the Y-axis, the swing axis being located between the first member and the second member, the sensor member being swingable with respect to the swing axis,

wherein an edge portion of the second member overlaps with the conductor in a plan view along the Z-axis, and the edge portion is located at an opposite side of the second member with respect to the swing axis in a direction along the X-axis,

the edge portion has;

first, second, and third sides in the plan view;

the first side extends along the Y-axis;

the second and third sides extend along the X-axis;

the second side is connected to one end of the first side; and

the third side is connected to the other end, which is opposite to the one end, of the first side,

the conductor has;

first, second, and third ends in the plan view, the first, second, and third ends are located at positions corresponding to the first, second, and third sides of the edge portion, respectively, in the plan view;

the first end is located outwardly away from the first side of the edge portion along the X-axis in the plan view;

the second end is located outwardly away from the second side of the edge portion along the Y-axis in the plan view; and

the third end is located outwardly away from the third side of the edge portion along the Y-axis in the plan view, and

the sensor member is made of a low-resistance silicon material.

2. The acceleration sensor according to claim 1,

wherein the first fixed electrode is configured to detect a first electrostatic capacitance between the first member of the sensor member and the first fixed electrode, and

the second fixed electrode is configured to detect a second electrostatic capacitance between the second member of the sensor member and the second fixed electrode.

3. The acceleration sensor according to claim 2,

wherein the base substrate is made of an insulating material.

4. The acceleration sensor according to claim 3,

wherein the conductor is electrically connected to the sensor member.

5. The acceleration sensor according to claim 4,

wherein the conductor is electrically independent from the first and second fixed electrodes.

6. The acceleration sensor according to claim 5,

wherein each of the first and second fixed electrodes has first and second edges opposite to each other along the Y-axis, and each of the first and second members of the sensor member has first and second edges opposite to each other along the Y-axis,

the first edge of the first fixed electrode is located outwardly away from the first edge of the first member of the sensor member along the Y-axis in the plan view, and the second edge of the first fixed electrode is located outwardly away from the second edge of the first member of the sensor member along the Y-axis in the plan view, and

the first edge of the second fixed electrode is located outwardly away from the first edge of the second member of the sensor member along the Y-axis in the plan view, and the second edge of the second fixed electrode is located outwardly away from the second edge of the second member of the sensor member along the Y-axis in the plan view.

7. The acceleration sensor according to claim 6, further comprising:

first and second supports that support the sensor member, the first and second supports extending along the Y-axis direction,

wherein the swing axis passes through the first and second supports in the plan view.

8. An electronic apparatus comprising the acceleration sensor according to claim 1.

9. An electronic apparatus comprising the acceleration sensor according to claim 2.

10. An electronic apparatus comprising the acceleration sensor according to claim 3.

11. An electronic apparatus comprising the acceleration sensor according to claim 4.

12. An electronic apparatus comprising the acceleration sensor according to claim 5.

13. An electronic apparatus comprising the acceleration sensor according to claim 6.

14. An electronic apparatus comprising the acceleration sensor according to claim 7.